Glimpses of the Other Side
by C A Moore
Summary: Buffy follows a hunch and ends up facing someone she never expected, giving her a glimpse of another world (had this idea after binge watching Fringe). A few references to events in the first half of the season 8 comics, but should be readable even if you haven't seen them. References to Buffy/Willow.


Notes: BtVS isn't mine, lucky Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc. I didn't start out with a fixed idea on the season 8 timing, but it worked out roughly between "Anywhere But Here" and "A Beautiful Sunset". The AU mentioned is a reference to a set of ideas I have been playing with for many years but have only published a few snippets, tentatively titled "Summers' End". This actually ended up being an interesting exercise to get a feel for the character divergence, but after a few separate edit passes I think I will stop playing and publish it. Sorry no B/W in text, it is referred to and the references are plot significant, and B/W is prominent in the main Summers' End plots so I figured I'd flag it.

Scotland, in a castle high on the moors a petite blonde woman is walking next to a sturdy dark haired man with an eye patch.  
"Nothing is gone and nothing on the vault cameras? Sound like good news. What am I missing?" Buffy walked alongside Xander; he strode along, seemingly at ease despite the eye patch; Buffy wondered if she would ever get used to it.  
"As far as we can tell. We had some weird signals from some of the mystical alarms. It's possible someone was doing some witchy spying on us, or maybe one of the artefacts acting up. Willow set it up; this is her thing, so I'm just guessing". Xander shrugged.  
Buffy stopped and leaned her forehead against the wall "Or someone is probing our defences in preparation for an attack" Buffy sighed; yet another nebulous threat, another mysterious adversary. An army of Slayers and they were still just responding, staggering from crisis to crisis. And to be honest, she was still trying to deal with the emotional fallout from the last few staggers; a kiss seasoned with cinnamon flavoured lip gloss still occupied her thoughts far more than she liked, without even getting started on Willow's extra curricular activities, Dawn's curse or the whole Twilight mess.  
Xander waited patiently as the moment lengthened. A group of three Slayers passed on patrol, their cheerful chatter echoing in the passageway. He smiled, even with everything that was happening people could still just be happy in the moment. But decisions still had to be made.  
Xander cleared his throat experimentally, but Buffy still didn't move, "So..." still she didn't turn around, but her posture shifted slightly, more alert "Should I call Willow? About the alarm".  
Buffy looked up, and opened her mouth to answer, but then frowned looking down the passage where the Slayers had just disappeared around the corner; something wasn't right.  
"Uh, hold that thought, I need to check something," she turned and raced off down the passage after the group.  
Xander was left standing alone in the passage "O-kaaay."

Buffy quickly caught up to the group; only two now; they stared at her expectantly.  
"The other girl, who was she?"  
The junior Slayers glanced at each other uncomfortably. Eventually one of them was brave enough to answer  
"I don't know", she supplied nervously  
"Alice? Maybe? I think she is new", the other one belatedly tried to help.

Buffy sighed, that definitely wasn't any Alice she knew about. So much for security, and now the intruder had a head start.  
"Where did she go?"  
The girls pointed to a small door a few meters away "She said she needed to check something in the tower"  
Buffy sprinted off through the door and up the stairs behind taking three at a time. At least there weren't many places to hide up here.

She burst in to the room, among the shadows and old furniture she quickly spotted the figure crouched in the corner  
"Gotcha!"  
"Drat!" though it sounded heartfelt, the quiet exclamation was hardly a four letter word she expected from a cornered demonic infiltrator. Now they were alone and she was concentrating the her slayer sense was clear, this was a demon, it felt like a vampire, but there was something else.  
The demon stood up, it was wearing a dark coloured hoodie; the hood was up so she couldn't get a clear look at it's face.  
"What do you want, Demon?" she asked, adding the last part to make sure it knew where this was heading; to clarify it further she took out her stake.  
The demon moved out of the corner but stayed in the shadows near the wall, keeping its distance.  
"I don't suppose you could go back in time and not notice me in the passage?" it sounded resigned; there was something about it's voice that nagged at her; familiar but unfamiliar; and when she tried to remember what it actually sounded like she couldn't. She peered into the gloom trying to see it's face; it wasn't that dark, but she still couldn't see. Like the voice.  
"Time travel's off, this weeks special is ass-kicking" Buffy spun her stake for emphasis. Normally there would be fighting by now.  
"Nice weather we've been having" The demon made an effort at nationally appropriate small talk  
As far as Buffy was concerned the past few days had been a demonstration of why the British had so many words for rain "If you don't like sunshine" she responded, rather pointedly  
"So uh, seen any good movies lately?"  
This was taking a turn for the surreal. She felt a wave of disorientation, and the truth hit her a moment too late - it had been playing for time.  
"A spell!" she spat, spinning quickly to try the door that had swung closed after her entrance - it wouldn't budge. Even as she kicked it with all her strength the rotted timber that had barely held together as she burst in was as solid as the stones of the castle.  
"Magic, why is it always magic", she growled under her breath, before turning to her foe "Ok no more small talk, you have five seconds to spill, or my stake does the talking".  
"Buffy, you don't have to solve all your problems with violence." the demon calmly observed.  
That was the last straw; with a wordless growl Buffy launched herself across the room.

A few seconds later she found herself hitting the floor for a surprisingly soft landing on a pile of old carpet as her stake clattered across to the other side of the room. Usually demons who tried to avoid a fight weren't this good at it.  
"So, you're fast" she muttered, fixing her gaze on her opponent, who instead of closing in on her seemed to be determined to keep as far away as possible. "Well, now I'm ready" Buffy rolled easily to her feet, grabbed a broken chair leg and closed again.  
This time she managed graze it's arm as it blocked the makeshift weapon, and follow up with a glancing blow to the demon's chest before being thrown again, this time landing on a mouldy sofa. Her opponent seemed to be weakening quickly and noticeably slowing down, while she wasn't even bruised.  
The soft landings were a nice change; once might be good luck, but twice.. almost as if...  
This time Buffy didn't get up as quickly, instead moving to a sitting position to look at the demon; her slayer sense was sounding more clearly now; it seemed impossible she had almost missed it in the passage earlier.  
"You don't want to hurt me" she stated, before continuing "Alice isn't your real name, is it?"  
The demon paused, breathing heavily for a while before answering.  
"It seemed appropriate" Evasive as ever, but it seemed relieved that the fighting had paused.  
Buffy peered at the demon for a while, but still couldn't discern anything useful; like the voice, definitely feminine, but nothing more "Your voice and your face... that's another spell isn't it?" Buffy settled more comfortably on the sofa.  
"A glamor to make sure people can't recognise me, or remember me after"  
"So, do I know you?" Buffy prodded.  
There was a long pause; the demon sat down carefully in one of the less broken chairs before answering. "Yes and no".

Clearly this was a sensitive issue, so Buffy tried a different direction.  
"You didn't mean to trap me in here did you?"  
"No. I didn't intend for you to realise I was here at all. It's not a trap, it's just a side effect"  
"Side effect?"  
"I was leaving. I set up the temporal shift so the portal couldn't be traced and you got caught in it"  
Portals, other dimensions, that rang a bell  
"Are you Kathy?" Buffy guessed.  
There was a long silence before the answer came  
"Your first room-mate? No, I'm not her"  
"But you know who she is, so you know me". That was a really short list of demons, so something else was going on.  
"Parallel world?" Buffy guessed; the demon was silent. Buffy looked across the room, squinting against the spell again to no avail; all she really knew was that the other seemed female; between the spell and the hoodie there wasn't much to see. Definitely a bit taller and heavier than her, but as her friends often pointed out meant nearly everyone.  
"Um about this portal, people will miss me"  
"They wont" Buffy stiffened; the demon then seemed to realise this could be mis-interpreted and clarified, "The portal is strictly keyed to me. Once the cycle is complete the temporal shift will just spit you out, a few seconds after you entered the room"  
"So spells within spells, what are you so afraid might be coming after you?"  
The answer was quicker and much more blunt than she expected "Willow."  
Hardly an uncommon attitude, and not entirely unjustified.

"All this magic, are you a witch?" Buffy changed the subject  
"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just using pre-prepared spells and following instructions" Buffy couldn't see but she suspected the demon was smiling.  
Something else occurred to her "Generally when a bad guy talks this much it means they think I'm about to die. When you say 'spit out', you mean in one piece, right?"  
"You will be ... unharmed. I'm not bad, at least not if I have a choice"  
Buffy didn't like the pause in that first sentence "You're being evade-y. Tell me"  
"Humans can't handle temporal distortions. And for all your potential you are still basically human; when the shift collapses you won't remember any of this, probably not even seeing me in the room"  
"Like those David Lynch demons Warren used" Buffy quietly noted, before continuing more forcefully "Magic Roofie, that never ends well"  
"You weren't meant to be anywhere near here, like I said"

Something else occurred to Buffy  
"If I'm not going to remember why are you still hiding?"  
"I'm going to remember, and I don't want to remember hurting you"  
The calm concern about her wellbeing, the fear of Willow going off the deep-end, even without the strand of blonde hair that had slipped out from the hood a terrible idea was beginning to crystallise in Buffy's mind, but she decided not to ask the question directly.  
"You're dead!... I mean the you in this world is someone that died, isn't she?" Buffy quickly became impatient with the lack of response "Someone I knew, someone I cared about, someone who even knows the name of my first roommate. Why won't you tell me!"  
After what seemed like an eternity the traveller finally spoke, implicitly confirming her guess "Are you sure you want to know? You sense, roughly, what I am. Are you so sure you want to see someone you love that way? To see a monster with their face. I won't really be her."  
The memory of seeing Willow's vampire doppelganger gave her momentary pause, but if this was who she thought it was then she couldn't not try...  
"But you have a soul? You're ... good. How bad could it be?"  
"I have a soul. As for good, I like to think so." she shrugged.  
"Please! I need to know" If someone had told her this morning she would be begging a vampire for something...  
The vampire sighed and stood up "The spell will break if you get a clear view", finally surrendering, she pushed back the hood and stepped forward into the brighter light.  
Buffy stood up quickly to see, but went back down as the spell broke, her knees weakening as unexpected but familiar features cut right to her heart. Blonde hair, soft hazel eyes watching her with gentle concern and a face more familiar than her own.  
This wasn't who she was prepared for, and it was a while before she could even get one small, shaky word out "Mom"

Joyce rushed forward with open arms to comfort Buffy, but stopped short, unsure if the contact would be welcome.  
Buffy had no hesitation and leapt up capturing her in a hug that would have been literally bone crushing if the target was human. Joyce wrapped her arms around Buffy, stroking her hair while they stood.  
A few minutes later when Buffy finally let go she was quite composed; slightly reddened eyes and a wet patch on Joyce's shoulder the only clues to the intensity earlier.  
Buffy swallowed before speaking "Um, so ..."  
"What the Hell?" Joyce suggested.  
"Yeah, that" Buffy smiled a little to hear Joyce using such language.  
"You know when people say it is a long story. It really is a long story, and not one you need to know" Joyce sat down on the couch and Buffy quickly sat beside her, reaching out to grasp her hand.  
Buffy stared at Joyce's face for a while; now the shock had worn off she was noticing things. Even apart being too young, there were things that didn't quite match, her whole face was a slightly different shape, rounder "You are different"  
"Our universes only diverged a few years ago, your memories of your mother are basically the same as my experience, things only became radically different later, so if there is anything you want to ask about the past I can probably answer"  
"I was lucky, we talked before the surgery and I guess I said goodbye even if it was a little early"  
"I remember."  
"I don't remember you being a vampire. I can't even imagine Mom as a vampire"  
"That life was over, the world had no place for me as I was, so I changed"  
"So is there any chance that my mom is..."  
"Sorry, no. Right place, right time, right friends. That was part of the divergence."

"But, why a vampire?"  
"I needed to be strong, and vampire was familiar"  
Buffy looked down at their clasped hands, realising something  
"But your hand is warm"  
"I'm not ALL vampire"  
That explained the not-quite-ness of her slayer sense. "I suppose that would have advantages"  
"I don't have all their weaknesses"  
Joyce removed her hand from Buffy's, giving her a brief apologetic smile, pulled the hoodie over her head and threw it up in the air as she muttered a short incantation and made a gesture with her hand. A fraction of a second later the airborne clothing disappeared in an impressive burst of flame. Underneath she was wearing a short sleeved white blouse. Buffy gave her a questioning look  
"I bought it in town, so it isn't keyed to the portal. I don't want to leave any evidence"  
"That spell didn't look prepacked"  
"I dabble" Joyce bent over and pulled a small rucksack from under the couch she put it down beside her and pulled out a chocolate bar, quickly opening it and taking a bite, closing her eyes as she savoured the flavour. After a few seconds she seemed to remember herself.  
"Do you want one?" she gestured to the bag.  
"I'm good, but um, you can taste that?"  
"Tasting food is part of the difference, luckily. I really would have missed chocolate"  
"Amen to that." Buffy looked at Joyce's arm, seeing the graze from the chair leg "Sorry about the arm".  
After a few more bites Joyce spoke again  
"It will heal." Finishing the chocolate, she spoke again "You are spending all this time talking about a world you will never visit, why?"  
"Since I won't even remember? I guess I have spent so much time agonising over imaginary what-ifs, that it is nice to have a real one. If I asked about other stuff, me and the gang, would you tell me?"  
"I'm not sure that I should; if the information got out it could be dangerous"

"Dangerous?"  
"I came here to protect my dimension. There were a few artefacts on your side that retained a link to ours; if someone found that link and tried to follow it, they could cause our dimensions to merge"  
"Everything goes kablooey? Like with the Key?"  
"Not quite - the disruption would be limited to the areas of divergence"  
"Us, the gang?"  
"Yes; and the all the Slayers"  
"ALL the Slayers?"  
"They were never called in my universe"  
"And when you say disruption?"  
"In this context kablooey might be the right word. Witches with enough power and skill in dimensional magics, or demons strong enough to just ride it out would be ok: my Buffy and Willow and your Willow, sure. But humans and Slayers, not so much."  
"So we really are on the same side"  
"We don't want everyone dead, yes"  
"You said artefacts? Were you in the vault earlier?"  
"Maybe, why?"  
"Some of the new mystical alerts went off"

Joyce was suddenly alert "New, as in not listed in your database?" Joyce absent mindedly opened another chocolate bar and started eating it.  
"Yes. And it sounds like we really need to upgrade our computer security"  
"Between getting the plans and circumventing the system it took me days. Made the vaults at the Vatican look like a pushover"  
"You were wondering around here for days? We need to upgrade ALL our security"  
"Well maybe, but I can be pretty sneaky. And I was here continuously because it is so difficult to get in and out of this place"  
"Are you patronising me?"  
"I wouldn't do that, Honey." Joyce patted Buffy on the shoulder, "Getting back to the rather disturbing subject, with these alarms going off you would call ..."  
Buffy cut her off "Willow, yes. Xander was suggesting it when I left to chase you"  
"That's... not good. Anyone else would miss it, but Willow..."  
"You cut the links, so she won't find anything"  
"It's not like cutting string, it needs time to dissipate. In a couple of days, probably even 24 hours it will be undetectable, but right now with Willow looking specifically for signs of recent magic activity, there is a chance..."  
"And I wont remember to stop her"  
Joyce looked at Buffy thoughtfully "You know, you are taking rather a lot on faith here."  
"I can either sit here assuming I am being conned by some random demon, or I can be talking to you, Mom. If I'm really not going to remember this I will go with the happy option. Happy Buffy needs some air time"  
"What if you could remember it?" Joyce looked at Buffy carefully assessing her reaction.  
"Me? The pathetic human?"  
"I wasn't trying to insult you. It was just an observation. You have all sorts of potential, but only the Slayer part has had any development."

"So I remember, call Willow off, and we all live happily ever after, kablooey free?"  
"Sorry, no. There is nowhere near enough time to teach you how to retain a conscious memory; even though I might know a way to get a memory though, Willow can read your mind like an open book and I don't trust her to leave things alone if she ever found out. I love you honey, but I'm not about to bet the future of the world on you beating Willow in a battle of wits"  
"Hey!"  
"Sorry, honesty overflow. I'm not used to talking with you this much"  
"So we aren't close. You and Other Me, I mean?"  
"Closer than we were. You know you, you don't like to open up" Joyce didn't even look at her hands as she opened yet another candy bar.  
"She doesn't even know you are here, does she?"  
"No. This thing has risks on both directions, it is strictly 'need to know'"  
"And you don't trust Willow, so who exactly are you working with?"  
"I have nothing against Willow, she is just unpredictable"  
"Tell me about it! But you didn't answer my question"  
"A Friend. Nobody you know"  
"One of your 'right friends'"  
"Something like that" Buffy sensed that was all she would get.

Joyce remained silent, staring into the dark corner of the room for long moment.  
Buffy began to wonder if she had upset her "Um, anybody home?"  
"What, oh. I was just ... thinking. We need to go deep, primal"  
"Primal?"  
"The Slayer could easily carry memories across, and your primal mind is strongly linked to The Slayer so that will work too. Since you make most of your decisions at the primitive level it should be enough to influence your actions"  
"Primitive level?" Buffy had a feeling she was being dissed again.  
"In a good way, dear. There is nothing wrong with not thinking if you don't need to, it makes you a good Slayer"  
"Thanks, I think"  
"We just need to convince your primal mind that not calling Willow today is of critical importance"  
"I don't want all the slayers to die"  
"Not personal enough"  
"The First Slayer would care"  
"Not as much as you might think; besides she is intentionally hard to influence, we have to stick to your mind"  
"I'm not even going to ask... I don't want you to die, that's pretty personal"  
"Firstly, you just met me and secondly, you firmly believe I would survive. Which is very flattering, thank you, but not all that useful in this case"  
"Self preservation?"  
"Given your track record?"  
"Hey!"

Joyce appeared to come to a decision, and shifted position to ease something out the righthand pocket in her Jeans "I've told you way too much already, but this one will top it. I apologise in advance for whatever emotional turmoil this is may cause down the line"  
Buffy thought back to earlier "Speaking of devastating emotional turmoil, about Tara?"  
"Pretty much the same story on our side, I'm afraid", Joyce revealed the object she had extracted, a small plastic folder containing wallet sized photos, and opened it.  
As Joyce pulled out some photos Buffy caught a glimpse of a group shot of the three of them - Joyce, Dawn and Other Buffy; she didn't recognise it and Joyce had her current appearance so she guessed it was recent; seeing them together smiling, that felt pretty primal.  
Joyce had pulled out two photos that had been back to back, she concealed the facing one with her hand as she separated them, so Buffy could only see the back of the other, there was a handwritten note 'Come home safe, I'll be waiting, A' followed by a heart. Joyce quickly slipped the folder and photo with the note back into her pocket.  
"Who is A?"  
"What?"  
"The note, who is A?"  
"Buffy, that isn't really the point" Joyce unwrapped another confection.  
"It isn't Angel's handwriting, and I'm pretty sure it isn't Aunt Arlene"  
"Buffy that is not the emotional turmoil we are aiming for", Joyce held out her hand with the other photo still face down. The print was obviously quite new. It also had writing on it 'JT, 13 mths'  
Buffy hesitantly took the photo and turned it over. No real surprise given the back - it was a picture of a smiling baby with blonde hair and hazel eyes.  
"Getting anything?" Joyce prodded gently.  
"Well she's not yours, because I don't think you would leave her that long. But you are carrying her photo, so maybe a grand-daughter? Did Dawn..."  
Joyce cut her off "Buffy this isn't an exercise in deduction. You have power you can't even imagine, but words won't do it. Don't think. Feel!"  
Buffy remained staring at the picture silently staring; there was something just out of reach, primal.  
Joyce coached her some more "You knew she was a girl. Even across dimensions you know who she is"  
Buffy finally found her voice "Mine!", it came out much stronger than she expected, like something else speaking though her, so she hastily covered "I mean, other me. She's a mother? But who's the father?"

Joyce smiled. "Better. You tell me"  
"But isn't this dangerous, if I'm reaching between dimensions?"  
"The Slayer, considered as an entity, is a higher being and can access information in ways that don't need a concrete link so the risk is low. Besides, this way you don't have to take my word for it, and it is passing right through your primitive mind - useless for names and dates but exactly what we need here. Her name is Joan Tara, we call her JT, tell me about her other parent"  
Buffy stared at the picture, looking into JT's eyes, but only one person kept coming into her mind and that was impossible.  
"Don't worry about possible, worry about True" Joyce seemed to know what she was thinking.  
Only one person had eyes that could melt her heart like that. "Willow"  
"A-plus".  
"But," Buffy started to protest. Joyce held up a hand to silence her, and reached into her pocket, pulling out the photo folder again. Without realising it Buffy clutched the baby photo defensively. Joyce smiled and handed her the photos. It was a clear plastic folder with two pockets providing a simple way to display four photos - Buffy had JT, A was still hidden in Joyce's pocket so there was only two photos left in there, the group shot she glimpsed earlier, and on the other side... she turned over the flap... It was a wedding group photo; the whole gang was there Giles, Xander, Anya, Dawn, Joyce, Willow and Buffy, all smiling, plus Sheila and Ira Rosenburg, though they weren't smiling. The happy couple where both wearing wedding dresses, and Buffy was obviously pregnant. She was a bit disappointed that there were no obvious clues to the identity of A.  
"We couldn't make it to Vermont, so it wasn't actually legal, but you did have a Wiccan blessing. Dresses work with both the Wiccan and Princess Wedding themes."  
"Willow's parents don't seem very happy"  
"The Pagan ceremony didn't help. They warmed up a bit once the paternity test came back"  
"About that. Willow doesn't have the equipment to do that", Buffy hesitated, ".. does she?"  
"You kids and your biology. It was magic, of course."  
"A magical lesbian shotgun wedding?"  
"JT was unplanned. You suddenly decided to get married six months in, but as far as I know it's real."  
"Um, so Willow and me, made a baby?" Buffy trailed off trying to formulate the obvious question  
"Well it isn't something they discuss with me, but yes you, other you, and Willow have a sexual relationship, and JT was conceived..." Joyce paused to come up with a delicate phrasing, "... during that activity"  
"That couldn't happen here, could it?", Buffy flushed and quickly clarified, "The baby, I mean."  
"Planning a night to remember?", Joyce teased. Buffy blushed deeper; Joyce continued "But, seriously, unique circumstances, outside influences; it's not something that would happen twice"

Joyce cleared her throat, "Returning to the fate of the world, I think we have a pretty good angle at your primal mind - tell me how it feels: JT is defenceless and human, and would be hit by any disruption with no chance of survival"  
Buffy took a while to reply, trying to settle the knot in her stomach and the ice in her chest "Yeah, we're good. Totally primal"  
They sat a while in silence, before Joyce spoke again "I kind of owe you for that stunt. We still have some time do you want to talk about something else?" Joyce leaned back and opened the latest treat.  
"Diabetes not a problem for vampires?"  
"No. Sorry, it helps me concentrate"  
"So, um Willow and me, other me, are we good? I mean, sometimes when you think you know someone... but then they do something.. even though they are with someone..." Buffy trailed off uneasily  
Joyce frowned for a moment trying to untangle her meaning. "Willow. So you know about Aluwyn"  
"What?"  
Joyce translated "Demon-snake lady"  
"You know her?" Her eyes widened "She isn't-"  
Joyce cut her off "She isn't 'A', either. I know of her, you wouldn't believe how demons gossip; and I know Willow well enough to guess the rest."  
"I never thought Willow would do that."  
"Magic and sex are complicated and tend to get tangled up, especially for Willow. But on my side she mostly works with you so I guess that may even be a good thing"  
"The couple that casts together, lasts together?"  
"Hopefully", Joyce rummaged around in the bag a while before giving up empty handed, apparently out of snacks.

"How is it that in a castle full of slayers no-one noticed a vampire walking around all this time?"  
"I can alter my balance, appear human to all but the closest inspection; but since I haven't been able to feed it has been getting harder - that's why you noticed me in the passageway before"  
"That's why you tired so quickly in the fight too? You are hungry?" It suddenly clicked "That's what all the candy was about"  
"Ravenous. Eating helps keep my mind off it. I used my last reserves to hold you off, I wouldn't have managed another round"  
"Is it safe? To go portal jumping when you are weak like that?"  
"It isn't ideal, but I didn't have a choice"  
"I could help, right?"  
"Buffy!" Joyce took a deep breath, and for a moment Buffy saw her self control slip a little, saw real hunger in her eyes.  
"Slayer blood, it's strong, and if you can control yourself..."  
"I can control my thirst, even with Slayer blood, but are you sure this is something you are comfortable with?"  
"You've had Slayer blood before? Not with F..."  
Joyce cut her off "Is that really the first thing you worry about? No, not with Faith; some ways you are exactly like my Buffy. This world is full of Slayers, I've tried the local cuisine"  
"You've tried..."  
"Don't worry, nobody got hurt. I'm not going to say safe, but it was consensual"  
"Consensual... you don't mean that... you... um, with...?"  
"Slayers and vampires, honey. You didn't think I just followed them around shaking an empty cup did you?"  
"I am a terrible role model"  
"If it makes you feel any better I think they started out planning to stake me, before they 'came' around to my perspective"  
"Not better, no"

Buffy held out her wrist to Joyce  
"What, you still want to do this?"  
"Well it may be even weirder now, but it will really help you, wont it? Plus I wont remember, so, bonus"  
"Ok, if you are sure. It wont be exactly like a vampire - I take less blood, since I can feed directly off your ... energy. But it will feel a little strange, intense"  
"Strange is the story of my life" Buffy shrugged.  
Joyce shifted to reveal her fangs, her eyes seemed brighter, but her forehead didn't change at all.  
Buffy started talking as Joyce lowered her mouth to her wrist "You know you look pretty normal for a Deeee..." Fangs punctured skin and as the blood flowed Buffy was overwhelmed by a wave of sensation.  
After Joyce released her wrist Buffy slid back along the couch, eyes wide and cheeks flushed, wrapping her arms around herself protectively "What the Fu...", she took a breath to compose herself, "hell was that?"  
"I told you I wasn't just vampire, there are other parts"  
"And you didn't feel the need to tell me about the effects on my other parts before we did", Buffy looked at her wrist seeing two small prick marks, "... whatever it was we just did"  
"Buffy I just took a few ounces of blood from you wrist. The rest is just subjective. People tell me it is more intense if you anticipate it so I thought it would be better this way"  
"More intense?"  
"Spontaneous" Joyce glanced down at Buffy's lap and back as a hint before continuing "climax"  
"Well I guess that is how you avoided death by Slayer"  
"They were feeling pretty good about me by the time I left"  
"You keep saying they.. was this more than one time or more than one Slayer at a time." Buffy's eyes widened as another thought hit "And you were in Rome, the decoy... No, wait, I REALLY don't want to know. Any of it"  
Joyce smiled slightly. "Hypothetically, none of those options are exclusive"  
Buffy pointedly ignored the remark "I can't believe I'm saying it, but vamp feeding seems a lot less complicated, it would be simpler if you could just drink blood"  
"I can, I don't like to. Hybrid feeding with my succubus side is much more efficient than feeding purely as a vampire" catching Buffy's scandalised look she continued "To get a feed like that I would have needed to take at least a pint of blood, probably two - it would have made much larger punctures and working from the wrist would have taken ages and left you weak"  
Buffy looked at her wrist, the pinpricks visible before had now entirely disappeared. "You leave no mark"  
"Not unless I want to"  
"And making me want to repress the whole incident is just extra insurance"  
Joyce smiled more widely. "If it makes you feel any better it's pretty frustrating doing that without having sex. Which I'm guessing is out of the question"  
"There is not enough eew in the world. You are definitely a demon." Buffy looked Joyce over intently, the graze on her forearm was healed, and a change was apparent to Buffy's slayer sense too "Although I can hardly tell now"

"So, do you want to talk about Satsu?"  
Buffy jumped "How did you?"  
"I've been listening to Slayer gossip for days, so I know how she feels. And your mind is full of cinnamon lip gloss."  
"Great, now you can read minds"  
"I can sense feelings when I feed; those kind of feelings, anyway"  
Buffy surrendered "She's good, really good, and I respect her. I like her, I like hanging out with her. But she is in love with me, capital L love, and I don't know what to do"  
"You don't have to do anything, Buffy, you are both adults. Just be honest with yourself and be honest with her. Sometimes you just have to go through life one step at a time and see where it takes you"  
"Thanks, I think"

Joyce stood up, and slung the rucksack over her sholder "We still have a minute"  
Buffy decided to return to her earlier line of questioning "So this 'A' person?"  
"You aren't going to give up on that are you? You know it will just be another thing you will be glad to forget."  
Buffy's eyes widened "It isn't Xander is it?"  
"Anya would have a fit"  
"But because she's with Xander, not with you?"  
Joyce sighed, then reached into her pocket and pulled out the photo, handing it to Buffy. "I'm afraid she switched out my normal one, so it is a bit racy"  
Buffy eagerly tuned over the photo and was met by a familiar face, and a body only slightly concealed by black lacy negligee; she blurted out the first thing that came to mind "But she's evil"  
"Your world. In mine she lives in our house, even babysits your daughter. Warren is ... no longer an issue" Joyce smiled slightly, flashing a little bit of fang.  
"You and Amy, that's uh. That's unexpected"  
"We're together for now, it's not like we are soulmates; it's comfortable".  
"So we are friends; I suppose that is better than here"  
"You argue all the time, but I think it isn't serious. Just family domestic stuff. Last week was variations on you insisting she should wear panties around the house, and her saying it was pointless with me around"  
"I'm going to welcome that memory loss; but it still beats trying to kill each other" Buffy handed the photo back to Joyce, and then much more hesitantly held out the photo of JT  
"Keep it" Joyce gently pushed her hand back.  
"But what about the danger?"  
"All my gear was carefully prepared to avoid that. Mystically speaking, that is nothing more than a picture of a girl who doesn't exist"  
Buffy nodded, and slipped the picture into her jeans pocket.  
"Not long now" Joyce remarked.  
Buffy tightly hugged Joyce, and Joyce hugged back. "I'm going to miss you", Buffy's voice shook a little.  
"You wont remember this"  
"I will always miss you, Mom"

Buffy found herself standing in the tower room, surrounded by old furniture. She had come up here for a reason, but she couldn't quite remember. After a few moments Xander caught up to her  
"Whats the what, Buff?"  
"Just a feeling, it's nothing" Buffy's hand crept slowly to her pocket and touched a small photo there. She pulled it out and looked at it without recognition.  
"So should we call Willow?"  
Buffy's fingers caressed the picture "No!", then puzzled by her own vehemence, "I mean, she will be coming around soon enough anyway, so we don't need to disturb her."  
Xander glanced at the picture "Cute kid. Who's is it?"  
"..." Buffy opened her mouth to say something, but quickly stopped, before continuing more distantly "I don't know" She slipped the picture carefully back into her pocket.  
Buffy seemed to return to herself "We should get back to inspection", she called as she strode out of the door.  
Shaking his head Xander followed her out of the room.


End file.
